Hideo Kojima isn’t thrilled about PlayStation’s upcoming ditching of physical game discs. Speaking at an event in Rome, the Death Stranding creator called the move ”very sad,” reflecting on how much he grew up with tangible media. His bigger worry isn’t just the change in format itself, but the subscription and streaming model it ushers in, where players lose ownership of a copy and only maintain access while online.
The clip of Kojima’s remarks surfaced on YouTube after the Italian film festival Il Cinema in Piazza. He linked the shift toward digital-only PlayStation games with the risk of losing access to purchased content if platforms, publishers, or governments decide to pull the plug. This vulnerability affects not just new releases but also games already owned, sparking concerns over digital ownership in both gaming and film.
The backdrop here is Sony’s announcement that starting January 2028, all new PlayStation games will be released exclusively in digital format. Physical discs will no longer be produced, though existing disc stock will remain available through retail and secondhand sales. Furthermore, one Austrian facility that currently manufactures PlayStation discs will pivot to producing micro-lenses instead.
Sony’s move follows a long-standing industry trend: gamers increasingly favor digital purchases. This pattern emerged earlier on PC with platforms like Steam virtually eliminating boxed editions. Microsoft’s Xbox Series S has been disc-less since 2020, and Sony’s latest PS5 hardware revisions offer the disc drive as an optional add-on. The 2028 deadline is the final step in the gradual phase-out of physical media for PlayStation.
Still, the digital model has exacting downsides. Buying games increasingly means licensing them under platform rules rather than owning a copy outright. Titles can disappear due to licensing expiration or rights disputes, and subscription catalogs can change anytime, often without user consent. In this light, physical discs or cartridges don’t seem like relics of a bygone era but rather a safeguard against losing access. That explains why Nintendo still supports physical editions and why GOG champions DRM-free downloads you can store locally.
For Sony, abandoning discs means tighter control over sales and profit margins by cutting out retailers and physical logistics. For players, convenience grows, but true ownership shrinks. How gamers will respond to this trade-off remains a question as the clock ticks down to 2028 – the first year PlayStation’s biggest new releases will only exist in digital form, leaving empty shelves behind.